Irons
by Catholic89
Summary: Will is working around his shop After AWE, when there is a knock at the door. What awaits him could change his life forever. Hint in title. WE, but pairings may change... Please read Author's Note!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, this isn't exactly a oneshot, but I don't know where to go after this. If you have any ideas, or are interested in perhaps co-writing this story, let me now.

I own nothing, 'cept the plot... Hence the whole "FAN fiction" thing...

If you either like or hate it please review, as I need constructive criticism.

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It was midday, and a peaceful light shone through the rafters of the blacksmith's shop. That very light illuminated the face of William Turner, who was surveying his work of a sword, making sure that it was as close to perfect as a sword could get. He did this with every sword, no matter the future owner. He didn't know exactly where this work ethic came from. He liked to believe it was his father's. Will remembered somberly the day he had said goodbye to his father. Jack's stabbing of the heart of Davy Jones had freed his father, but being no longer immortal or preserved as on of Jones' crew he had nothing to keep him from death. Will had but a few moments with his father to say goodbye before he died. His father had been content to go, with the exception of the time had lost with Will.

Will shook his head, shaking away the thoughts as he stood and set the sword carefully on a table to cool. He strode across to a part of the shop that held the materials necessary to make a sword. He was about to reach for a new set of materials when there was a knock at the door. As Will went to open it he rushed through his mind the swords he had, and which ones he would have done within the week. Will had just stepped in front of the doors. His eyes flicked startlingly across the men in front of him. Naval men.

"By the order of Commodore Norrington, who is under the jurisdiction and power of the King of England, you- William Turner- are required to compensate for your wrongful actions in the past in Port Royals time of need." Spoke one man, who was some sort of higher rank.

Will remained silent for a moment. "I... I cannot. I am to be married shortly... To Miss Elizabeth Swann. The Commodore knows this." And then it hit him- the Commodore did know of this. Whatever he had to do would separate him and Elizabeth. "No. I will not yield!" He said angrily.

"Then we have no choice, Mr. Turner." The man replied, apathetically. "Irons."

Four men surrounded him reaching for his wrists. Will tore away, and then there were two more shoving him against the door behind him. He struggled against them, but within moments the shackles were on his wrists and locked. They began pulling him out into the street, but Will continued to struggle. Eyes stared at Will, all wondering what he had done. Most thought of him as a levelheaded man, not a criminal. In his anger, Will continued to struggle, but came to his senses after a few minutes. This would do him nothing. Instead, Will put on a firm, but furious face.

Soon he was in a cell, sitting against the cold stone, tuning out the pleas of the other prisoners, reaching for the dog with the keys. It was all Norrington's doings. Greedy Bas. Will sighed, and thought of Elizabeth. She probably had no idea. It wouldn't be long before she found out though, and he could only hope that then she didn't try anything. He would find his own way out of this... He hoped. A door creaked somewhere, and soon there was the sound of boots against steps, and in a moment Norrington stood in front of him. It took all will had to not stand up and begin yelling. Instead, he remained sitting against the wall farthest from Norrington, as if the space he kept between them was some sort of insult.

"Mr. Turner... I'm sorry for the..." He gestured towards the cell, "circumstances. I wasn't planning on it, but I'm afraid your actions have called for this." He said all of this sounding dryly pleased with the very thing he apologized for.

"I believe my actions were justified, Commodore, considering the circumstances." Will replied in a voice that could be compared with acid.

"I'm sure I have no idea what circumstances you speak of, however I...," He was cut off by Will.

"Like hell you don't!" Will yelled.

"Mr. Turner, I would appreciate your recognition of my superiority and power, as currently your life is in my hands." He replied, still dryly pleased. "Now, perhaps I can explain why you are here. You see, Port Royal has been involved in a number of situations lately that call for naval intervention. Due to the frequency and intensity of such... situations, we find ourselves in need of men. You are young and perfectly capable to serve aboard a ship, and are in debt to Port Royal for granting you clemency. In fact, I can think of no more perfect man to serve. You will comply, Turner." He finished the last sentence losing the coolness and replacing it with a harsh tone of command. "You will comply."

With this Norrington turned around briskly, and took the stairs back up into the light of day.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was going down now. Its pink light illuminated the horizon that Elizabeth Swann caught herself staring at, sitting in her room. Her room in her father's house. She smiled, knowing it would not belong before she gazed upon the horizon from a home that she and Will shared. It would be difficult to say goodbye to this room though. Here she had looked out upon a bustling Port Royal. She had memorized people's comings and goings on the street below as a child. Every morning she would see Mrs. Chase scuttle across the street to her job as a seamstress. Soon after Mrs. Chase there was an elderly homeless man whom no one had the heart to shoo out of town as he was blind in one eye and could barely see out the other. Then, after the nearly blind man, came William Turner. He went from the blacksmith's shop to the docks nearly everyday to check if there happened to be supplies coming in. Will never knew that all these years Elizabeth watched him do so. Even now when they were engaged and to be married she didn't tell him. Still he made the trek every morning, and still she watched him. This past morning however must have been the rare day when Will didn't go to the docks. Elizabeth sighed, and turned away from the window. Her pale green dress swished across the floor with her. Elizabeth looked around her room, trying to memorize its contents and shape. Her glances crossed with a clock. It was slightly past six, and supper would be served very soon. Elizabeth turned back to her window and shut the shutters, as it would be dark and possibly a little cold by the time she returned. From there Elizabeth made her way to the dining room. She took her seat across the lengthy mahogany table from her father who was uncharacteristically late. John (a servant) stood in the corner waiting to serve the meal until the Governor arrived.

" John, do you know of anything that would be keeping my father?" Elizabeth asked politely.

"Er… No Miss, I do not." He replied staidly. Elizabeth turned back to her plate, lips pursed with worry. Elizabeth rubbed an arm, trying to shake it off. Surely her father was fine. There was no need to be worried. So, they waited. Elizabeth smelled aromas from the kitchen, and willed her stomach to not grumble. Twenty minutes later the door was opened, and her father came in. Soon he was in the dining room. "Oh, many apologies, Elizabeth. I hate to keep you waiting, but there was… ehm," He sat down," some unexpected business that came up." Elizabeth smiled, "Apology accepted. What business?"

The Governor remained focused on his plate where John was now placing food. "Well…" To John he said," Quite enough, thank you." Back to Elizabeth he replied," Nothing interesting, really. Just unexpected." Still he would not look at her and because of this Elizabeth knew he was hiding something. "Nothing dreadful, I hope?" She asked, gently trying to find out what it was he was hiding. "No! Just unexpected, as I said before. Now, can we talk about something else?" He replied, harsh this time. Elizabeth recoiled slightly and began picking at her food. "I decided on the white orchids for the wedding. Mrs. Miringham said she would deliver them fresh the day before." When Elizabeth looked up her father was staring at her as if he had something to say, but couldn't spit it out. "What?" Elizabeth said, alarmed with her father's unusual behavior tonight. Mr. Swann shook his head and forced a smile," Nothing, nothing. Yes, white orchids sound nice." And so their dinner commenced, mostly in silence. As they were finishing the Governor cleared his throat. "I think it might be best that you stay here tomorrow. There is a nasty bout of influenza running around and I should hate to see you catch it. Elizabeth nodded, "Of course." With that Elizabeth retired to her room. She would see Will in the morning as planned, despite her father's worries. The shop was not too far and she didn't risk much going there and back. Settling the matter in her mind Elizabeth went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well, I had fun writing this cpater and I hope you enjoy reading it. Review please!!! Even if you thought it sucked...

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A night in jail. It was Will's first, and it was not treating him well. A snoring guard sat sleeping in a chair under a lit torch that only illuminated a little less than half of the prison. Will sat staring at the torches flame, unable to sleep. It was Elizabeth that worried him. He knew she would have probably heard by now, and he knew that she was bound to do something. The only question was what and how much trouble it would get her in. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. It was going to be a long night.

Elizabeth awoke to a knock at her door, as the usual morning went. A maid entered and Elizabeth crawled out of bed as she opened the shutters to a breezy morning. Elizabeth took off her nightgown and the maid helped her into a corset, followed by a pink frock, which was edged in a small dainty lace. The maid left, and Elizabeth turned back to her window. Mrs. Chase, then the homeless man, but no Will. Elizabeth furrowed her brow. Perhaps she would visit Will earlier than she had planned to make sure he was well. Elizabeth went into her armoire, took out a small shawl- white to match the lace. As she went downstairs John mentioned that her breakfast would be served soon. Elizabeth thanked him and asked that it be kept warm, as she wouldn't be gone long. With that Elizabeth walked out into the streets of Port Royal. Within minutes she had reached the blacksmithing shop. Elizabeth knocked on the large door and waited. It was quiet inside so he should have been able to hear. After some time Elizabeth knocked again. Still nothing. Behind her a voice yelled, "Miss! Miss Swann," Elizabeth turned to see Mr. Ellis across the street, "You won't find William in there. He's been taken off. Arrested just yesterday. Don't know what for…" Elizabeth's eyes widened. Arrested? Will had not done anything… Elizabeth thanked Mr. Ellis hastily and started running towards the legislative hall, underneath which was the jail. She was allowed in easily, and from there Elizabeth chose to see her father first. She flung open his door, causing her father to jump in his seat. "Eliz…" Elizabeth's shouting at him cut him off.

"Where is Will?!? Why has he been arrested? And why didn't you tell me? DO you think me a child still? He is my fiancée!" Her father went from shocked to seeming deeply tired.

"Elizabeth," He began quietly, "Will has been drafted into the Royal Navy." Elizabeth's face hardened, " He cannot be drafted- Will is a craftsman. You know this! His services are necessary to the town!" Governor Swann shook his head. "But Will is also in a sort of debt to Port Royal because he has been granted clemency. There is nothing that can be done." Elizabeth was fuming, her eyes boring into his. "Who ordered this?"

"No one _ordered_ this… His was merely a name on a list."

"Father! Who ordered this? You know as well as I it was more than just some random occurrence."

"Elizabeth…"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Norrington," The Governor finally revealed wearily. "He ordered the draft two days ago." Elizabeth finally realized why all of this was truly happening. It had nothing to do with Will's debt. Norrington knew full well when their marriage was, and his intention was to disrupt it. "Where is Norrington?" Elizabeth asked, seething with rage like some kind of cat-like animal about to strike its prey. The difference was that Norrington was no prey- he was the predator.

The governor remained silent for a moment, but finally gesturing down the hallway. Elizabeth threw her father one last spiteful look, and then swiftly turned herself around and walked out of his office. Elizabeth entered Norrington's office much like she had done with her father's, not bothering to knock. When he looked up and recognized Elizabeth there was an odd look on his face.

"You _will_ release my fiancée, Commodore." She said in a low tone.

"Miss Swann, I'm afraid that is not possible. Your fiancée is debt to Port Royal because of…"

"Commodore," She began spitting every word out slowly and hatefully, "This will not be the second time my marriage is put on hold. I know surely you think that this will somehow get you my heart, but your sick and twisted mind needs to reorder itself. I will not ever love or marry you. My heart is with Will, and it will remain there…" This time Norrington was the one to interrupt.

"Really? Because it seemed like your heart was quite changeable on the Pearl." Elizabeth opened her mouth and shut it again. Norrington continued, "In fact, I have to wonder how much your heart is so with Mr. Turner. Maybe next week there will be someone else your heart belongs to. So, by my actions it seems an ill-fated marriage has been avoided. I see no reason to release William to a woman who cannot stay committed to him." Elizabeth put her hands on Norrington's desk and leaned forward.

"My heart is none of your business. And it is committed to Will."

"I once heard that it is best to judge by actions, not by words. Your actions contradict your words, Miss Swann, so I am forced to look only upon your actions. They leave me at the same resolution as before. Now, I would ask you to leave." Elizabeth was about to say something else, but knew in the back of her mind that Norrington would not bat an eye if he had to remove her forcefully. Instead, Elizabeth turned on her heel, and aimed for the stairs that would lead her to the prison.


End file.
